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G Whiz!

Waiting for the latest and greatest version of the all-in-one
iMac computer has become a national pastime for Apple buffs.
Unveiled a few months ago, the iMac G5 once again puts Apple at the
head of the style frontier. Fortunately, it also packs some
features that will appeal to certain business users. The widescreen
LCD display hides the guts of the machine: a 1.6 or 1.8GHz G5
processor, USB and FireWire connections, 256MB RAM, and an 80GB or
160GB hard drive.

Starting at $1,299 and topping out at $1,899 for the loaded
20-inch-display version, this iMac will look good as an executive
desktop for Mac-faithful entrepreneurs. The same businesses that
purchased the original iMacs for their stores or offices will find
that this space-conscious version is worth a look. It's a good
time for original iMac users to consider an upgrade to boost their
productivity and computing capabilities.

Send Out the Search Party

Sometimes, your computer resembles the Bermuda Triangle, where
files disappear and documents are swallowed by the deep recesses of
your hard drive. The built-in Windows search tool isn't the
user-friendliest or fastest utility around. To help in your
search-and-rescue operations, there are several options for
third-party desktop search tool programs.

Blinkx and
Copernic Desktop Search (CDS) are two of the leading options.
Blinkx integrates file, web page and news searches into one tool.
It can automatically pop up relevant information links based on the
content of a document you're working on, or it can be used more
like a traditional search tool. CDS, available at www.copernic.com, can
search your hard drive in as little as under a second. It moves
quickly due to some sophisticated automatic indexing capabilities.
For either of these programs, the price is certainly
right-they're both free.

Microsoft is naturally making moves in this area as well. It
acquired desktop search tool Lookout in mid-2004. You can expect a more
capable search tool in the next version of the Windows OS.

Google has also moved into the area with its Google Desktop
Search, a browser-based application that combines web and desktop
searches. Those aren't the only possibilities. For more
information, Search Tools Consulting keeps a list of
candidates.

The percentage of U.S. households without a landline has nearly
doubled-growing from4.2%
in 2000, to8.1%
in 2004.Statistic Source: Mediamark Research
Inc.46%
of businesses expect to dedicate more dollars to IT in 2005.Statistic Source: Forrester
Research